


The Shattered Remains of Cassius

by KarsMcCool



Category: Adastra (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Sad, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:41:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27740929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarsMcCool/pseuds/KarsMcCool
Summary: After a bad breakup, Cassius returns home and must deal with his demons.
Kudos: 5





	The Shattered Remains of Cassius

Cassius laid in his bed waiting for his lover, Alexios, to come back from a governmental meeting. He was wearing nothing but his underwear, which he was eager to take off for some nightly and naughty fun. Cassius’s ears perk up as he hears Alexios opens the door. “Darling...” Cassius moans as soft as the pillows. “I’m so glad you’re back...” He gets up and walks towards the cat with one hand on his hip. “Care to relax?” Cassius whispers in Alexios’s ear as he put his hand on Alexios’s chest, gently rubbing him.

“Oh, I’d love to Cassius...” Alexios starts, pulling Cassius’s hand away from his chest. “But I’ve been working a lot today and I’m real tired...” Alexios yawns and walks toward the bed and lies down.

Cassius, annoyed, sighs “You know Alexios.” He pinches his temple “I’ve done so much for you and it seems like you never want to return the favor.” Cassius getting angrier, he raises his voice and says “Hell, I even left my home planet for you! What do you even do at your job? I thought your ‘mission’ was done!”

“Cassius please! I can explain!” Alexios says panicking, raising his hands outwards. Alexios begins to sweat knowing that he’s been cornered and there’s no way for the cat to weasel out of this.

“Yeah, I know what you did! You tried to cause chaos and you even got me poisoned!” Cassius screams. His fists start trembling, as tears begin swelling in his eyes. He wipes his eyes and sniffles. “Virginia told me everything, I-I didn’t want to believe her at first but...” His voice begins crackling “I think...I think I was blinded by my love for you...” Cassius whimpers the last few words.

“No please Cassius! It’s not like that my government just wanted-” Alexios gets cut off by Cassius shoving him to the ground.

“We are done Alexios.” Cassius, says while tears stream down his face. “If we somehow ever meet again,  ** I will fucking kill you ** .” Cassius, then leaves but not before taking a bottle of wine and slamming the door, leaving Alexios speechless. He  sulks to his spaceship and moves inside. He looks around and remembers going to  Omofrah with Alexios. “Com take me to Adastra.” Cassius demands as he drinks from the bottle.

“Yes Cassius” Com says, preparing the flight. Cassius spent most of his time on the trip back drinking and sobbing about how the only person who he cared about, might’ve never even loved him back. The white wolf drank so much he lost conscious and slept for the rest of the trip back. 

Cassius wakes up from the landing. “Ugh... My head...” He grumbles and looks out and sighs “I wish I didn’t have to come back here...” Tears begin forming in his eyes, knowing that he has to return to the life he once left behind. He then swallows his sadness “No... I-I can’t let them see me cry...” Cassius gets out of the ship,  Neferu takes notice and comes out to greet Cassius.

“Oh Cassius, I didn’t expect you to come back.” The jackal says. Cassius growls at  Neferu . “It’s so crazy seeing you back here again Cass. I sort of missed your angry demeanor.”  Neferu says with a chuckle.

“Fuck off.” The wolf demands pushing the jackal to the side and, walks into the palace. He looks around and remembers running away with Alexios. He remembers how Alexios got him drunk so he would be more willing to leave. “ _ Why does everything remind me of that bastard?”  _ Cassius asks internally, a mix of anger and dread fills his body.

Cassius soon hears a pair of feet walking towards his direction. “Amicus, you were so disrespectful in that meeting today! You couldn’t even bother to keep your eyes opened!” A disappointed feminine voice scolds at the other.

“I’m sorry Virginia!” the other voice whines, presumably Amicus. “I didn’t get enough sleep last-” The two wolves then stop what they were doing and see Cassius who was trying to sneak off. “N-no way...” Amicus says putting his paw to his mouth. 

Cassius stands there uncomfortably, as his siblings ran up to him. “H-hey there...” Cassius says weakly. He rubs his shoulders “You know I’m real tired and I think I’m going to go to my room and just sleep for a while...” Cassius looks down and starts to drag his feet towards his room before being stopped by Amicus.

“Cassius! I’m so glad you’re back!” He says excitement in his voice, he then looks around and asks “Where’s Alexios? Weren’t you two like an item?” Amicus says. Virginia sighs and facepalms quietly, disappointed even more in Amicus.

“Who? Oh...Alex...” Cassius replies, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I don’t want to talk about it right now...” Cassius then walks off towards his room. He hears Amicus and Virgina walk towards him, he holds up his paw and beckons to them stop. “Please I-I just need to sleep.” His voice cracks. Cassius gets to his door and opens it. He looks around and see’s that its untouched, he lies down on his bed and cries softly. “Alex...” He cries. “Alex...Why?”

Virginia sighs “We should leave him be for the rest of the night. Clearly something happened with him and Alexios.” She looks at Amicus “Please try not to bring up what he did alright? I think he finally accepted that Alexios wanted to just cause chaos.”

Amicus rolls his eyes and mumbles “Yes Virginia...” Amicus then says angrily “I swear out of all the terrible things Alexios has done this is the worst thing he has done!” He stomps his foot and continues “Once I get my hands on him, I’m gonna-” His rant  is interrupted by Virginia.

“Amicus!” Virginia barks. “Why are you getting so angry? I thought you hated that Cassius and Alex were together. You said that Cassius was in a terrible relationship.” 

Amicus crosses his arms and says “Well yeah, after learning that Alexios wanted to cause chaos I was hoping Cassius would just leave him...I’m not even sure if he loved Cassius honestly.” Amicus looks off and then says “I’m sorry, I’m just feeling a lot right now.”

Virginia puts her paw on Amicus “Don’t worry brother. I am certain we can help Cassius through this. We’ll be sure to check up on him in the morning.” She says in an attempt to reassure Amicus.

Cassius looks out at the night sky and cries into his hands “ _ Why didn’t you make time for me? _ _ Was I not good enough for you?”  _ He asks internally “ _ Am I not good? Probably...”  _ Cassius lies down and falls asleep, tears in his eyes. That night he dreams of all the memories he had with Alexios, picnicking in the park, riding for hours into the sunset and dining at the finest restaurants. There was something different, however Alex’s face was blurred and blackened out. Once Cassius wakes up, he is drenched in sweat and tears. He was also panting heavily.

As Cassius catches his breath, Com booms in and tells Cassius “Cassius, you are needed in the dining room.” Cassius, slightly shocked from Com’s voice, sighs and gets up and moves towards his bathroom.

“I should at least make myself presentable...” Cassius says as he looks in the mirror. He looks at the bags under his eyes and his teeth stained red because of the wine. He brushes his teeth and goes to reach for his hairbrush. He looks at his hairbrush and has a breakdown. “I-I remember when Alex brushed my fur for me...” He grabs the hairbrush and curls up in a ball “And he’d softly kiss me telling me how much he loved me...” Cassius sobs for a few minutes, holding the brush close to him.

Cassius hears a knocking on his door “Cassius? Is everything ok?” He hears Amicus ask. 

Cassius sniffles and says “Yeah...I-I was just getting ready...” His voice trembling. Cassius gets up wipes his eyes and opens his door. “Well? Let’s get going.” Cassius says trying to force a smile, a little twitch in his eye.

Amicus looks at his brother and asks “Cassius your eyes are red... Have you been crying?” He puts his hand on Cassius’s shoulder. “Is everything alright brother?”

Cassius scoffs and walks forward towards the dining room. “I’m fine, I just didn’t sleep well.” He then walks off nonchalantly. As he and Amicus get into the dining room, he greets Virginia and  Neferu . “Good morning everyone! Oh man pheasant I missed this stuff! The food here is just amazing!” Cassius exclaims, his fake smile growing bigger.

Put off by Cassius’s optimism Virginia asks “Well Cassius you seem to be very happy today.” Cassius nods as he eats some pheasant. “How was your stay with Alexios?”

Cassius growls and says “Ugh, I can barely remember a thing about that place. And don’t even get me started on Alexios. He was such a piece of shit, right?” His hand begins shaking “I mean he tried to ruin my home! By the Parents, I hope that fucking bastard drops dead!” Cassius exclaims, gritting his teeth. He then realizes what he said and looks at how concerned and scarred everyone around him is. “O-oh I’m sorry...” Cassius whimpers, sipping some wine, silence filling the air.

“W-well uhm...” Amicus starts “It’s nice to see you accepted the Parents.” Virginia rolls her eyes at her brother, Amicus annoyed at Virginia then says “And-And you’ve gotten over your fear of wine.” Virginia sighs and facepalms as Amicus tries to fill the silence.

“It’s the only thing that fills the void...” Cassius whispers, feeling tears beginning to form as he drinks more wine.

“Did you say something?” Virginia questions, a hint of worry in her voice.

“Oh, I was talking about how this wine is satisfying!” Cassius says, taking the last sip of wine. “Wow am I full, anyways I’m going to be at the garden for a while if anyone needs me.” Cassius gets up to try to avoid everyone.

Neferu speaks up to Cassius, he asks “Wouldn’t you want to stay for a while and just talk to us? You are obviously bothered by something.” 

Neferu’s blunt words pierce through Cassius “No. I’m fine, there is nothing I need to talk about.” Cassius lies and, moves towards the garden. As he enters the garden, he looks around and thinks about when he planted several types of flowers with Alexios. “We planted such beautiful flowers... I hope they aren’t still here...” To his dismay Cassius looks at the flowers he planted with Alexios. He pulls up a flower and holds it close. “That piece of shit...” He growls. Cassius then starts tearing up all the flowers, pulling each flower aggressively. “I hate you. I hate you.  ** I. Hate. You ** .” He utters through strained teeth. After Cassius finished his flowery frenzy, Cassius then sees that he’s covered in dirt.

Cassius tries to get back to his room without being seen by anyone. He gets close to his door but is stopped by  Neferu “Is everything ok? You’re covered in dirt. Did you trip on something?” He asks raising an eyebrow.

“Sure.” Cassius replies as heads into his room, but is stopped again by  Neferu .

“You know Cassius.”  Neferu says. “Just because I’m not family does not mean you can’t open up to me. I know there’s something going on with you.” He puts his paw on Cassius. “Don’t be afraid to talk.”

“Don’t fucking touch me.” He says pulling his arm back from  Neferu’s grasp. “I don’t want your fucking help.” Responding coldly, and walks in his room. Cassius gets undressed and mutters “He doesn’t care about me. I bet that tail raiser only wants to ‘help me’ so he can fuck me...” He gets in the shower and turns it on. As he cleans himself off Cassius finds himself in deep thought.  _ “I need to find something to do so I can stop thinking of him... _ ” Cassius thinks to himself trying not to cry for the 2nd time that day. Cassius dries himself off and then thinks to himself “ _ Wine did help me forget my troubles...”  _ Cassius then bites his lip and thinks hard if he should drink or not. He then asks Com “Com I’d like some wine please...” 

Com responds and says “How much wine would you like Cassius?” Cassius getting nervous gulps.

Cassius feebly responds “I think I’ll have two bottles please...” Com then flies out and to get Cassius two bottles of wine. As the wine arrive, he chugs down the first bottle. He gets about halfway before stopping “Fuck...” He rubs his head with his free hand “Nope, I still remember him...” He finishes off the rest of the bottle. “M-maybe...Maybe I just need some music to clear my head...” Cassius says opening up the next bottle. “Com play some party music.” Cassius says, already chugging the next bottle.

“Playing party music” Com says. Soon enough some music starts playing, it’s quite loud and bothers Cassius for a minute. He then regains himself and drinks some more from his wine bottle. He starts feeling a bit happier.

“Y-yeah this music...” He chuckles already feeling drunk. Cassius gets up and starts dancing slowly and  drunkenly . “Com! Turn this shit up!” He points up at Com and nearly falls over.

“I’m not sure what you mean by ‘turn this shit up’ did you mean to turn up the music?” Com asks. Cassius rolls his eyes at Com’s comment.

Cassius puts his hands on his hip and groans “Yeah turn the music up you fucking dumb ass!” Cassius chuckles “Dumbass fucking robot!” The music becomes loud enough for it to echo through the palace. “Ha! I haven’t felt this happy in forever!” Cassius proudly roars. He then hears a knocking at his door “Who is it?” Cassius questions, slurring his words.

“It’s  Neferu , I came here to talk.” The jackal states. “I just want to check...” He tries to finish but is cut off by Cassius as he opens his door. Upon hearing the loud music,  Neferu loudly asks as he covers his ears. “Can you turn that down a bit?”

“ Uggh fine you party pooper!” Cassius whines. “Oh yeah, hey Com fuckin.” He hiccups “Turn...Turn down the music a bit.” The music gets quieter and Cassius grabs  Neferu’s hands and says “C’mon let’s dance  Neferios !” He starts swinging his arms with  Neferu . Cassius then gets close to  Neferu and pinches his cheeks. He tells him. “If you aren’t the prettiest...” His lingua starts breaking up, unable to translate his drunken compliments.

“Well, I am flattered Cassius...” He takes Cassius’s hands off of his cheeks and puts them down. “I came here to talk to you. You have been avoiding me and your siblings ever since you got here. Tell me right now, w hat happened with you and Alexios?”  Neferu asks with a serious demeanor.

Cassius breaks down and cries. “Oh Alex!” Cassius wheezes and gasps allover “He never loved me!” His lingua starts to break up again, barely being able to translate what he said. “...Job...Me!” Cassius begins whining and howling as he crumbles to the floor. 

Neferu kneels down and holds Cassius in his arms, hugging him “Hey it’s going to be ok.” He pats the howling white wolf on the back “Let it all out Cassius...” Cassius sobs deeply into Neferu’s chest. “You got this buddy... You just need to take this one step at a time...”

Cassius pushes back from  Neferu’s hug and looks deep into his eyes; he wipes his tears and whispers in  Neferu’s ears. “Fuck me you sexy piece of ass.” Putting his hand on  Neferu’s face and attempts to go for a kiss.

Neferu is immediately taken aback by this and  let's go of Cassius. “I beg your pardon?” He asks confused. 

Cassius clumsily gets up on his bed and wiggles his behind at  Neferu “Oh please don’t make me beg!” Cassius swoons. He rolls all over his bed in a drunk attempt to seduce  Neferu .

Neferu denies Cassius’s sloshy seductions and he picks himself up from the floor. “Cassius you’re drunk.” He tells the drunken horn-wolf, in a sorrow filled voice. 

Cassius shakes his finger “Nuh uh! I’m also horny!” He says with a grin and taking a swig of his wine.

Neferu sighs “You’ve been drinking too much.”  Neferu attempts to grab the bottle from Cassius.

Cassius pulls back and kicks  Neferu in the face “No it’s mine! Get your own wine!” Cassius then crawls to the center of his bed and drinks the rest of his wine.

Neferu yelps in pain and he holds his hit face with one of his hands. “Ah! Hey what do you think you’re doing Cassius?”  Neferu grabs the bottle with his free hand. He yells at Com “Com! Do not allow anymore wine for Cassius!”

Com replies “I’m sorry but I cannot allow you to do that because, Cassius out ranks you.” 

Neferu complains “Damn it. I’ll just have to tell everyone else then.” He looks at the drunk white wolf and sighs.

Cassius starts laughing “Ha  ha ! Tell everyone what? That you’re a dumb idiot who can’t stop me?" He says pointing at  Neferu with a shaking hand.

Neferu gets an idea and smirks. “No, no, no pup. I was going to tell everyone that you’re terrible at going to sleep.”  Neferu tries to hold back laughter as his smile grew.

Cassius’s pride clearly hurt and he then barks. “I’ll show you!” Cassius then passes out.  Neferu chuckles and helps Cassius get into bed and into a proper sleeping position. 

As Cassius slept, he dreams of Alexios again. “I love you Cassius!” The cat said with a gleaming smile. “Wow is this for me? You’re so thoughtful!” Alex yells with a huge smile on his face. As the dream went on further Alexios’s voice and face gets more and more distorted. “ _ Oh Cassius! _ ” he bellows, his eyes darkening. Soon Alex’s face was nothing but a mismatch of darkness and his facial expressions. The dream ends with his eyes leaking a dark substance and toothy grin “ **_ Let’s stay like this forever. _ ** ” He says in a deep voice.

Cassius wakes up in a puddle of sweat. He looks to his side and sees his dinner, how long was he out? Before he can figure that out, he notices a note, it reads “ _ Dear Brother, please meet me for some tea tomorrow in the garden.  _ _ We need to talk. _ _ -Virginia”  _ Cassius isn’t sure when he received the note but, assumes he has to meet his sister in the morning.

Cassius thinks about he’s going to dread every minute of this session. “ _ Great. I have to meet that annoying bitch. She’s probably going to scold me saying ‘We’re so worried about you!’ And that sort of shit.” _ Cassius puts his hand to his head to try and soothe his head ache. “ _ Fuck my head hurts...What even happened?”  _ Cassius began to ponder as he ate. “ _ I think I got drunk and then someone came in. Who in the hell was he?”  _ The sudden realization hits Cassius and anger stirs inside of him. “That fucking  Khemian ...” Cassius growls and got up. He storms into  Neferu’s room and pounds at the door.

Neferu opens his door and mumbles “What the hell is it?” Rubbing his eye, he asks “Cassius? What are you doing at this time of hour?” Cassius stood there, anger all over his face.

Cassius screams “What did you do to me, you fucking tail raiser?!” Accusing  Neferu of some unwanted actions. “I know your types...You just want to ‘help’ me so you I can be one of your boy toys is that right?” He pokes  Neferu in the chest.

“What gave you that impression Cassius?” He looks to the side and says “I’ve done nothing, but be nice to you right?” He says with a smile in attempt to calm down Cassius.

Cassius scoffs at  Neferu “Sure, you’re being ‘nice’ to me. Just like how my lousy siblings are being nice to me. Just so they can ‘fix’ me and show off what kind people they are!” Cassius then storms off and tells  Neferu “I wish Cato fucking killed you.” Cassius storms back into his room mumbling obscenities. He falls into his bed and sighs “I wish Cato killed me...” Cassius then wept himself to sleep as he curled up into his blankets and cuddled with them almost like a pup after having a nightmare.

Com blares into Cassius’s room “Cassius, Virginia requires your presence in the garden.” Cassius gets up and rubs his eyes. He heads towards his bathroom and looks into the mirror. He looks even worse than he did last time, his eyes completely red, much like his teeth. His fur looked matted. Cassius chose not to clean himself, not seeing the point on why he should. In his eyes, Cassius had no one to look good for.

Cassius looks deeply in his reflection and tells himself and caresses his fur. “Look at you. You were once a respectable member of society. Now you’re a fucking failure who pushes everyone away.” These comments make Cassius to bend over and lay his hands on the sink and sob hard. He didn’t want to believe these harsh words about himself but the more and more he thought about it, the more and more he began to accept it. Cassius looked at his sniveling reflection, the once cold and collected wolf now looking like a baby.

After Cassius was done crying, he left his room and stumbled towards the garden. He looks over at Virginia who set up a table with some baked goods and tea. She is clearly surprised by Cassius’s appearance but soon changes her facial expression. “Brother, I’m so glad you can join me.” She gestures to the chair across from her. “We need to talk.” Cassius moves over and sits down in a chair. “ Neferu has told me that you and Alexios had some sort of falling out and you were drinking heavily.” She takes a sip of her tea.

Cassius groans and rolls his eyes. “I was drunk so I probably was just speaking non-sense.” He takes a sip of tea and takes a bite of his muffin. 

“He also told me that you were hitting on him and that you even called him ‘ Neferios .’” Virginia adds.

Cassius briefly chokes on his muffin and then regains his composure. “I-I would never!” Cassius blushes immensely and furrows his eyebrows. “What makes you think that he was telling the truth?” 

“Because he knows that I care about you.” Virginia replies “We are family Cassius. We ca-” Her little speech is cut off by Cassius slamming his fist on the table.

“Oh, shut the fuck up!” Cassius growls showing off his stained teeth. “I am sick and fucking tired of hearing about how everyone here cares about me!” He begins to leave. 

Virginia holds her paw out and pleads with his brother “Cassius calm down! Just talk to us, we can help you.” She attempts to calm him down. “We can’t help you if you keep pushing us away brother.”

“I don’t want you fucking help. I can help myself just fine.” Cassius states, pointing at himself.

“Brother your form of ‘help’ is hurting you, just look at yourself!” Virginia points out “Your fur is dirty. You never want to leave your room and-” Virginia is once again interrupted by Cassius.

“You don’t think I haven’t noticed!” Cassius yells at the top of his trembling lungs. “Just because you can make some observations doesn’t mean you’re that fucking smart!” Cassius can feel his tears starting to stream down his face. “You’re just as dumb as me...” He whimpers.

Cassius starts to walk away and Virginia then asks. “What would mother think, Cassius?” Cassius stops immediately and starts to tremble. His body beginning to tense up. 

Cassius turns back and coldly demands. “Do not fucking mention mother you bitch.” He stood there and glares at his sister, who had her hand over her mouth with a shocked look in her eyes. Cassius trembles even more and runs back to his room to curl in his bed in the fetal position. “Stupid fucking idiot...” He can feel himself crying harder. “Why did you say those things, and to your sister no less.” As he kept shaking, he then looks over at the serving tray from last night, it still has the knife on it. Cassius’s shaky hand moves over to grab the sharp utensil and gets a firm grasp on it. As Cassius brought the knife closer to his wrists, he gets shakier and shakier. His breaths get more violent and heavier, he finally brings the knife close enough to slit his wrist but, he pulls away at the last second. “You fucking coward...” He puts the knife away in his drawers to try and not look at it and get that fatal temptation again. 

Cassius hears a pounding at his door. “Cassius! Open this door!” It was his brother, Amicus pleading to his destroyed and depressed brother. “Please brother, we want to help you!” A little whimper is heard in his voice. “You’re my only brother and I hate seeing you like this!” Small sniffles can be heard through the door. “W-we all care about you Cass...”

Cassius gets up and shouts. “Lies! No one has ever cared about me! You just want to make yourself look better! Not like you fucking need it Amicus! Everyone here fucking loves you and they all hate me!” He pounds his bed with his fist.

Amicus argues back “That’s not true Cassius and you know it!” He pounds on the door and asks. “Name me one person who hates you.” 

Cassius laughs “The ‘Parents’ hate me. They called me the false emperor and a coward. Not a single person on this planet or in this universe likes me. I’m a fucking joke.” His voice starts to tremble he falls back into his bed.

Amicus stammers “Ca-Casssius...D-don’t say those things about yourself...You can always improve yourself...” He pleads to Cassius “Please you just need to open up...”

Cassius tells Amicus through tears “Leave me alone.” He weeps. “I’m beyond help.” He turns away from his door not wanting to hear Amicus.

Amicus loudly states “I’m not going to leave until you open up!” He stands there waiting for Cassius to open his door. 

“Fine. You want me to open up? Alright.” Cassius tells Amicus, completely fed up with him. He gets up and opens his door. “Leave. Me. Alone.” Cassius says sneering at his brother before punching him in the nose.

Amicus falls to the ground and grabs his nose; he was barely bleeding. “Ow! Cassius...” He looks up to see Cassius, who was quivering with terror. “Wait brother!” Amicus says getting up and trying to get inside of his brother’s room but his plan is cut short by Cassius immediately closing the door.

Cassius looks at his fist and notices some of his blood. “No, no, no...” Cassius falls onto his bed realizing what he did. “Amicus is going to have me killed...” He repeats over and over “I am going to die...I am going to die...” He looks at where he last left his knife. “No, if I’m going to die...It’ll be on my own terms...” He reaches into the drawer for his knife and tries to cut himself again but, he can’t bring himself to do it. “If-if I can’t cut my wrists, I should try to prick my fingers.” Cassius moves his knife forward. He closes his eyes as he pricks his finger he yelps softly and says panting. “T-that wasn’t so bad.” He looks at his finger slowly bleed, soon it was bleeding immensely and Cassius screams. 

This scream is heard throughout the Palace. Soon Amicus is back his nose bandaged “Cassius!” Amicus screams pounding at his door “What is going on?!” Cassius ignores his brother as he rushes into the bathroom trying to wash off his bloody hand, but the blood doesn’t wash out.

“So... So much blood...” Cassius says. His pounding heart was louder than Amicus beating at his door. “Please let this stop...” Cassius then raises his paw and notices that all of the blood he saw was just a hallucination. “I’m going insane...” He moves towards his bed, completely broken, and falls forward letting the warm blankets engulf his body.

“Cassius open this door now!” Amicus yells, the beating of Cassius’s door echoing through the room. Amicus falls to his knees as he hears silence. “Com...” He rests the back of head on Cassius’s door “Is Cassius ok?” He buries face in his paws.

Com responds “Yes. He is currently in his room.” Amicus lets out a sigh of both relief and sadness. Amicus starts to shiver.

Amicus sobs, not wanting to leave Cassius’s side. Virginia approaches Amicus “I think...I think Cassius needs more time by himself. Come Amicus, we have some work to do...” She tells Amicus, sadly.

“No... He needs me...” Amicus softly says. “I want...I need to help him...” The big wolf weeps.

“Amicus you know you’re doing no good just sulking there...” Virginia sighs “Perhaps all he needs is some sleep and maybe he can talk in the morning...” Virginia walks away.

as Amicus gets up, he tells his brother “I’ll see you in the morning brother...” Amicus too then walks away.

“ _ Congrats. You finally got what you wanted. You’ve pushed away the only people who seemed to care about you.”  _ Cassius thought as he looked up at his ceiling. “ _ Mother is looking down at you Cassius.”  _ He thinks to himself. Cassius cries himself to sleep. 

“Cassius...” A voice calls, to the white wolf. “Cassius!” The voice says louder.

“Who goes there?” Cassius asks. He looks around and realizes he’s in the dark void of space. “No not here again...” Cassius gulps “Please not another nightmare...”

Alexios then appears in the darkness. “I thought you loved me Cassius.” Alexios gets closer to Cassius “Don’t you love me?” He asks sadness in his voice.

“Go away!” Cassius begs “You used me!” He screams at the top of his lungs. He starts panicking everywhere he turns is Alexios’s face. “Please let this end...” He cowers in fear. 

Another voice chimes in, this voice was deeper and it sounded like it came from someone wise. “So, you want this to end?” Cassius looks up and sees someone with his back towards to him. He’s a muscular black figure, blue fire as a sort of hair.

“Yes please! I need this nightmare to end!” Cassius cries “I’ll do anything you want!” Cassius gets on his knees and begs to the figure. The figure turns around and reveals that he’s the Monitor but slightly different, instead of his normal appearance he has the face of Alexios. “AAAH!! Back foul demon!” Cassius screams in terror. 

“If you want all of your troubles to end...” He says, the dinner knife forming in his hand “ **_ Go and see your mother! _ ** ” He roars at Cassius.

Cassius wakes up drenched in sweat, his heart pounding out of his chest. “ _ See mother? Does that demon want me to...?”  _ Cassius thinks to himself. He then comes to the realization that the Monitor wanted him to take his own life. “Yes... It all makes sense now...” Cassius grabs his knife. “If I die, I don’t have to worry about anything ever again!” He looks around and thinks “No... If I’m going to die, I want the last thing I see is something that’ll make me happy.” Cassius thinks for a while, tapping at his head. He remembers the Royal Graveyard. “Mother’s grave...The only one who cared about me...” Before Cassius walks out of his room, he tells Com “Hey Com if anyone asks for my location. Do not tell them.” Cassius cackles quietly, his eye twitching.

Com responds “Yes Cassius.” Cassius then walks out of his room. He walks towards the Royal Graveyard with his swaying hips and silently humming something. His humming was enough to wake up Amicus.

“Hmm...?” Amicus mumbles, rubbing his eyes. “C-Cassius...?” He gets out of his royal bedroom to look out in the palace, once he saw no one was there he went towards Cassius’s room. “Brother are you in there?” He knocks on the door and is greeted by silence. “Brother? Is everything ok in there?” Silence again. Concerned he looks up at the ceiling asks Com “Com? Where is Cassius?” His heartbeat starting to race.

Com replies “I’m sorry Amicus but Cassius had told me to keep it confidential.”

Amicus scared for his brother and annoyed at Com says “As Emperor I demand you tell me where Cassius is!” His heartbeat races faster and faster with each second.

“Over writing...Cassius is at the Royal Graveyard.” Com responds.

Worried for his brother’s life he rushes towards the Royal Graveyard. As he got closer and closer, he can hear Cassius saying in a cheery voice “Oh mother...We can finally meet again...” Cassius looks over at his brother, who’s terror was evident all over his face. “Oh, hello Amicus...” Cassius then holds the knife up to his body and brings it towards his body.

Before Cassius can take his life, Amicus runs towards his brother and hugs him, this causes Cassius to lose his knife and drop it on the floor. “Brother what do you think you’re doing?” Amicus asks through tears.

Cassius angrily demands, as he attempts to wiggle out of Amicus’s grasp. "Let me go!” He struggles, trying to hit his brother. “Can’t you see this part of The Parents’ plans?” He pleads tears streaming down his face “They need me to die!” Cassius sobs.

Amicus comforts Cassius “No brother they would never want anything like that! What makes you say that?” He asks, teary eyed. He starts to loosen his grasp slightly so Cassius can speak.

Cassius sighs “I had a nightmare...I saw that demon again but he had A-Al...” Cassius breakdowns again. The mere thought of Alexios sends Cassius spiraling down “Alex!” Cassius howls. He wraps his arms around Amicus as he cried into him.

Virginia then runs in hearing the commotion “What’s going on?!” She looks at Amicus and Cassius “Oh no... Please tell me that...” She walks towards her two brothers, her hand over her mouth. “Is Cassius hurt?” Virginia looks on quivering.

Cassius sighs, trying to collect himself “I’m fi...” He stops and says “I’m not fine.” He looks away and explains “I haven’t been fine ever since I broke up with Alexios.” He looks down and cries “I’m so sorry...”

Amicus reassures his brother with a pat on his back “It’s going to be okay Cassius... We can help you and you’ll be happy again...” He holds Cassius even closer.

Cassius tells his brother “That’s easy for you to say... You’re such a great guy with an even greater relationship...I don’t even know how you do it...” Cassius weeps.

“Brother, I know deep down you can be a good person. I know you’ve had some troubles in the past...” Amicus pushes Cassius back and rests his paws on his shoulders. “Like umm... Leaking that tape of me and  Neferu to almost all of Adastra but, I forgive you.” Amicus can’t help himself and hugs Cassius again.

Cassius is left speechless “I-I... Thank you, brother... I’m sorry for being so mean to you over the years...” He hugs Amicus back.

Virginia kneels down and rests her hand on Cassius’s shoulder “Brother... You don’t have to do this alone. We can help you, together.” She then moves over and hugs Cassius with Amicus.

With a small smile on his face, Cassius tells her “Virginia thank you...You’re the smartest wolf I know... I wish I could be half as smart as you...”

Virginia replies “Oh please you don’t need to say that brother. I know that you’re a smart man. One of the smartest wolves I know, if I do say so myself.” She giggles.

Cassius chuckles “Heh thank you sister. I never realized how much I meant to you guys...”

Neferu then walks in “What’s with all the noise?” He then looks at the siblings hugging each other. “A little intervention for Cassius? I might as well join...”  Neferu smiles “Now Cassius for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been kind of a dick.”

Virginia turns around glares at the jackal. “ ** Neferu ** **. ** ” She says showing her teeth.

Neferu gulps and says “But you have shown signs that you’re not all that bad.” He gets down on his knees. “You care for those who are less fortunate than you and you know injustice when you see it. Maybe Amicus can appoint you as one of his advisors.”  Neferu chuckles as he wraps his arms around Cassius.

“Maybe...” Cassius says, thinking out loud “I think I’d like that... But I’m scared... I’m scared that I’ll embarrass you guys and all of Adastra...” Cassius looks down and sighs. “I need some professional help”. 

Amicus tells Cassius “We can schedule something for you... It’s going to be okay...” Amicus soon cries along with Virginia and Neferu.

“Amicus...” Cassius begins “Virginia... I think we can finally be a family again...” Cassius weeps as the group hug each other. Finally, accepting their compassion.

Sometime passes and Cassius enters therapy, he walks into the meeting room and is greeted by his therapist. He’s a gray and old wolf with a slight bulky build to him. “Ah, Cassius I’m so glad you can join me. Come sit down right here.” He gestures toward his couch. “My name is Aelius.” He says to Cassius.

Cassius mumbles out “Hello there.” He is slightly embarrassed that he has to be here, his  wolven pride clearly hurt. He then sits down, his face slightly red.

“Now, now no need to be embarrassed.” Aelius responds. “Anything that is said here will remain within this room. I will be sure not to tell anyone that you are here or what you say here.” Aelius says in his calm and soothing voice. 

Cassius groans “Let’s just get this over with.” He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

“Now Cassius, can you tell me why you’re here today?” Aelius asks, he begins tapping on his clipboard waiting to write down in his notes.

“I’m a drunk.” Cassius responds, agitation in his voice furrowing his eyebrows. 

“Why is that?” Aelius questions. “There must be a reason for it.” He gestures towards Cassius.

Cassius sighs and mumbles “Well...When I realized that Al...” Cassius bites his lip and starts over. “When I realized that my partner probably didn’t love me and was a threat to Adastra, I drank to cope...” He looks down and says, “It made me feel again... It made me feel happy, but the feeling really would never last...” Cassius can feel himself starting to cry.

Aelius responds “Have you told your family or friends about this?”

Cassius looks down and plays with his thumbs “For a while no. When I came back here, I didn’t want to tell them because...” He pauses, not wanting to say anything.

Aelius reassures Cassius. “It’s alright, take as much time as you need.” Cassius begins to quiver thinking what he should say.

Cassius continues “I think I didn’t tell them because, I thought they use me to improve their image and I thought I could just help myself... Fuck, I’m such a fool...” A few tears run down Cassius’s face.

“Cassius, you are a brave and smart man for opening up to your family when you did. It takes a lot of courage to do that.” Aelius says.

“Well...” Cassius starts “I had no other choice, when I told them about my depression and dependency...” He says quietly wiping a few tears away.

“’No other choice’? What do you mean by that?” Aelius questions.

Cassius gulps “W-well...” Cassius’s voice begins to quiver “One night... After a horrid nightmare, this Monitor person, with the face of my partner, told me to go to the Royal Graveyard and see my mother... I took it as that I should take my own life...” Cassius starts to cry “And then... My brother found me and well he stopped me... That’s when I explained to everyone about what happened...” He puts his face in his hands trying to hide his sobbing face.

Aelius thinks to himself and asks “I see... Did you try to take your life after that?” He hands Cassius a tissue.

Cassius blows his nose and says “No. I’ve  been on watch ever since then. I’ve been monitored so I wouldn’t drink or try to kill myself... I know everyone is just worried about me but it makes me feel like a pup.”

Aelius then asks “Can you blame them? You mean a lot to them and they want to do whatever they can to make sure you’re safe.”

Cassius looks down and says “I guess...” He then sighs “I really fucked up... I was blind to how terrible my partner was and when I finally came to turns to  it, I started to go  downhill .”

“You can only go up from here.” Aelius responds “You’re not going to stay at rock bottom forever. With enough time you will start feeling like your old self again.” He then asks Cassius “Have you tried taking up some hobbies?”

“When I came back, I tried to do some gardening to take my mind off things but... I saw some flowers that reminded me of my partner and I just got so angry I tore up them all up.” Cassius says.

Aelius tells Cassius “That’s perfectly normal. What you should do is try to find ways to take your anger and put it into something creative.” Aelius then asks “Might I recommend you to a support group?”

Cassius says “A support group? I’m not sure someone like me should be in a support group.” He puts his hand on his head thinking what could go wrong.

Aelius replies “Well think of it like this, all of those wolves would can see you as one of them. You would be like an inspiration to them.” Aelius smiles warmly.

Cassius then ponders “I guess that would make sense. I would like to make a deeper connection with Adastra’s citizens.” Cassius then hears a chiming from Aelius’s clock.

“Looks your one hour is up today Cassius, see you tomorrow.” Aelius says.

Cassius is shocked and gets up “One hour already?” He begins to leave and says “See you later then.” Cassius exits the building, a little smile on his face, and watches as a carriage rolls up to pick him up.

Amicus busts out of the carriage “Brother!” He runs up and picks his brother up and hugs him “How was your appointment?” He lifts his brother up.

Cassius attempts to wiggle out of his brother’s grasp. “Amicus... Let me go...” Cassius says with strained breaths. 

Amicus loosens his grasp and puts his brother down on the ground. “Oh, sorry brother, I just got really excited to see you...” He rubs the back of his head.

Cassius tells Amicus “It’s fine. You almost broke something” He then chuckles and brushes himself off.

Amicus rolls his eyes and tells Cassius “C’mon brother let’s get going.” He then motions towards the carriage.

The two enter and Cassius is greeted by Virginia “Hello Cassius did you enjoy your session?”

Cassius mumbles “I guess so.” He then goes on to talk about what he and Aelius discussed about in their meeting. Cassius then asks “Shouldn’t you two be in a meeting or something?”

Virginia tells her brother “Well we actually had some free time and we wanted to come and see you. Especially Amicus” She chuckles as she hits Amicus on the shoulder.

Cassius then looks down and says “Thank you for making time for me.” He frowns slightly.

Neferu looks at Cassius and puts his hand on his shoulder “You feeling alright buddy? You look like you have something on your mind.”

Cassius sighs “It’s just... I feel like you guys are wasting your time on me.” He rubs his arms, letting his fingers flow through his now clean and soft fur.

Amicus’s ears are held back and he asks. “Brother... Why would you say that?” 

Cassius looks to the side and responds. “Well, what if I get drunk again? What if I fuck up again and ruin everything you guys worked so hard for?” His voice sounds slightly panicked. Cassius put his hands near his face.

Neferu states “Then you’ll get sober again. Your path to recovery isn’t going to be easy but, we can surely help you.” He helps turn Cassius around to show him the friendly reassuring smiles of his family and friends.

“We’re behind you Cassius, 100 percent.” Virginia adds.

“We will always be there for you brother!” Amicus exclaims, his tail wagging raising his fist to the sky.

Cassius tears up “I’m not sure where I would be without you guys...” He wipes his eyes “Thank you everyone.” Cassius then looks up at everyone and realizes that he is truly loved by his friends and family.


End file.
